1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to an arrangement for mounting a passenger seat on an adult bicycle in which the passenger seat is situated between the saddle and handlebars of the adult bicycle. The center-mounted passenger seat for bicycle is adjustable in angle and height, can be used interchangeably on most sizes and styles of adult bicycles, and is readily removable. It also can be used as a stationary child seat after removal from the adult bicycle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The idea of carrying a passenger, often a child, in a seat attached to an adult bicycle is known in the art. Currently, the most frequently seen configuration is one in which the passenger seat is mounted either in front of the handlebars or behind the saddle of the adult bicycle. However, placing the passenger seat in either of these locations substantially alters the center of gravity of the bicycle. This makes the bicycle less stable and more difficult to operate. Additionally, if the passenger is a young child and the adult must place him into the passenger seat, it is more difficult for an adult acting alone to place the child into the passenger seat and then mount the bicycle when the seat is mounted in either of these positions, unless the bicycle is somehow rigidly supported by extrinsic means.
For these reasons, the present invention mounts the passenger seat between the saddle and the handlebars of the adult bicycle, with engagement with the bicycle frame at the seat tube and top tube of the adult bicycle. Passenger seats mounted between the saddle and handlebars of an adult bicycle ("center-mounted passenger seats") have been suggested previously in the art. See, for example, Sager, U.S. Pat. No. 479,845; Sager, U.S. Pat. No. 453,212; Loewke et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,919,479; Bobbitt, U.S. Pat. No. 1,474,577; Christy, U.S. Pat. No. 2,234,299; Collins, U.S. Pat. No. 579,514; Reminger, U.S. Pat. No. 4,305,532; Robbin et. al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,632,453; Berger et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,902,737; Darden, U.S. Pat. No. 2,448,867; and Mangan, British Patent No. 364,922. However, the prior art fails to disclose the structure of the center-mounted passenger seat for bicycle described and claimed herein, and therefore fails to achieve the advantages associated with the present invention. No prior art center-mounted passenger seat discloses engagement points at both the seat tube and the top tube of the adult bicycle, instead either (1) utilizing only one engagement point, at either the seat tube or the top tube of the adult bicycle; (2) utilizing engagement points at the top tube and at the saddle post itself, above its entry into the seat tube; or (3) utilizing engagement points at the top tube and the down tube of the adult bicycle.
The present invention, by using engagement points at both the seat tube and the top tube, combined with adjustable securing means at both points and a supporting bracket between the two points comprising a plurality of braces, can be used on most sizes and types of bicycles, and can be quickly and easily switched from a men's to a women's style bicycle. Although the distinction between men's and women's style bicycles is less obvious on some current bicycle models than it was at one time, a men's style bicycle generally is considered as one having a substantially horizontal top tube, with the top tube connecting the seat tube and the head tube. A women's style bicycle, on the other hand, is generally considered as one that has a top tube which slants towards the ground from the head tube to a connection at some point along the seat tube. The present invention also is readily adjustable to a variety of heights and angles on the adult bicycle, rather than a single position, allowing the rider to adjust the center-mounted passenger seat easily to the most desirable or comfortable position for both the rider and the passenger.
The adaptability of the present invention is achieved by the fact that, in the preferred embodiment, the forward part of the supporting bracket includes an angled forward support plate that defines separate cutouts for use with men's and women's style bicycles. The after part of the supporting bracket comprises an aft supporting member that includes a plurality of braces which may be rail-like members, as opposed to being a solid body, at least one of which passes to one side of a substantially vertical imaginary plane simultaneously intersecting the head, top, and seat tubes of a men's or women's bicycle, and at least one of which passes to the other side of the same imaginary vertical plane. These rail-like members allow use of the center-mounted passenger seat for bicycle on both men's and women's style bicycles, provide for easy height and angle adjustment, and provide increased seat stability.
By using the seat tube and the top tube as the primary engagement points, the present invention offers other distinct advantages. First, the center-mounted passenger seat is significantly more stable than prior art center-mounted passenger seats. Center-mounted passenger seats mounted solely along the top tube tend to sway and rock, as do center-mounted passenger seats mounted solely to the seat tube, with no forward engagement point. The plurality of rail-like members used in the present invention likewise adds to the stability of the passenger seat by decreasing sway, pitching from side to side, and yaw. This stability is furthered by constructing the rail-like members with shock-absorbing bends in two different directions. In the preferred embodiment, one bend is in a direction normal to an imaginary vertical plane bisecting the saddle of the bicycle. The other is in a direction substantially normal to an imaginary plane substantially parallel to the horizontal support member of the passenger seat. Center-mounted passenger seats utilizing top tube and saddle post engagement points preclude the wide variety of angle and height adjustments available in the present invention.
Another significant advantage of the present invention is that the passenger seat of the present invention can be removed easily from the bicycle. Ease of removal often is a highly desirable attribute in products used in conjunction with bicycles (e.g., quick-release wheels, quick-release saddle posts, quick-release front and rear lights). To remove the passenger seat, all that is required is that the rail bolts securing the rail-like members of the supporting bracket to the seat tube clamp on the seat tube be loosened. This is accomplished easily, as in the preferred embodiment the rail bolts are hand-operable plastic knobs. The rail-like members will slide out, and the passenger seat can be removed.
Additionally, the present invention allows an easy and rapid switch from a men's style bicycle to a women's style bicycle. For example, if parents are on a long bicycle trip with a child, both bicycles could be provided with a seat tube clamp. When one rider becomes fatigued, all that is required to move the center-mounted passenger seat from the men's style bicycle to the women's style bicycle or vice-versa is that the seat be removed from the men's style bicycle by loosening the rail bolts and withdrawing the rail-like members from the seat tube clamp, the forward support plate be switched from the men's bicycle configuration to the women's bicycle configuration, the rail-like members be inserted into the seat tube clamp of the woman's bicycle and the rail bolts tightened.
A further advantage of the invention is that with the passenger seat disconnected from the bicycle, the supporting bracket provides a means for keeping the passenger seat upright when placed on the ground, which makes the invention particularly useful when the passenger is a child. The passenger seat can thus be used to hold a child before or after the passenger seat is mounted on or removed from the bicycle, respectively; indeed, it can be mounted or removed with the child still strapped in place.